FEATURES

Palm Springs Modernism Week 2015
The Christopher Kennedy Compound Show House Designers Bring A Unique Style To A Mid Century Home

Text by Vanessa Kogevinas
Photography by Grey Crawford

Luxurious is walking out on a back patio whose white porcelain tile melts into the green of an expansive golf course as your eye is drawn up to the San Jacinto mountains and impossibly crisp blue sky framing them. Behold The Christopher Kennedy Compound Show House held for a second year in row in conjunction with Modernism Week Palm Springs 2015.

For this year’s project, sponsored by California Homes and Traditional Home, thirteen designers from across the country were assembled to bring their unique style and talent to a 3,000 square foot midcentury house, which drew almost 4,000 visitors and raised close to $100,000 for Modernism Week and architectural preservation efforts in the Palm Springs area.

While owner of the house and namesake of the show house Palm Springs-based interior designer Christopher Kennedy set a general design overview—to draw from the area’s natural blues and greens and overarching midcentury architecture—each designer interpreted their space in a very unique manner.

Michael Berman’s design for the pool terrace at the front of the residence welcomed the visitor. “I wanted to set the tone for the entire home,” he says, “with pops of color and combining midcentury modern style with the classic Palm Springs laid-back lifestyle.”

In the living room Trip Haenisch also evoked the midcentury modern style of the area using “furniture from or inspired by prolific designers of the past such as Hans Wegner, Jean-Michel Frank and Jean Royere,” he notes.

Nancy Price’s adjoining dining room—separated by a custom Trip Haenisch Maple wood screen—boasted a charcoal colored wood veneer paper. “I wanted to create warmth and depth of design,” she says.

The kitchen, which features an integrated catering kitchen, was designed by Christopher Kennedy and basked in green. “Green is my favorite color,” he shares, “and I decided to bring back avocado kitchens!”

Grace Home Design made a splash with their signature turquoise sea blue in the guest room. “We were inspired by the blues and greens of the natural environment,” says Roger Stoker, who with partner Michael Ostrow achieved their goal of a “comfortable, inviting and fun room.”

Connecting patios grace the living room, dining room and guest room—all three of which were dressed by Gino Castano and David Lasker of Palletuer. The installation of a Warner Brothers Studio-created sculpture offered a jaw-dropping moment that in “framing the view allowed the expansive space to become an intimate lounge cocktail area,” notes Castano.

On the master bedroom and den patios Linda Allen went for a “‘make you smile’ outdoor living room showcasing fun color blocks – periwinkle, navy and lemon,” she says.

A den by Lance Jackson and David Ecton of Parker Kennedy offered a bright yet smoky sexy vibe dictated by the Robert Allen fabric on the vintage sectional sofa. “We drew our inspiration from couture fashions from Alexander McQueen,” says Ecton.

For the master bedroom Mark Cutler aimed to “capture the moment in time that was a clash between modernism and the new traditionalism that was coming back to the desert,” he notes, “drawing inspiration from epic designers like Steve Chase and Michael Taylor.”

Marlaina Teich’s design for the master bath was a lovely compliment. “I wanted to create a modern space with subtle excitement by combining contrasting textures with a shot of bold color,” she explains. The adjacent master closet by Kennedy “embraced the necessary dropped ceiling by adorning it with butterfly wallpaper,” he says.

For the powder room, Vanessa De Vargas drew inspiration “from Hollywood glamour and from old school Palm Springs designs,” she notes. “I wanted the space to illicit a ‘wow, this could have been this here all along’ reaction.”

Rounding out the property was Bobby Berk’s outdoor lounge. “I wanted to create an area that would become the spot where everyone wanted to hang out at night,” he says. And indeed it was.

Of course, without the support of sponsors a high-end show house is impossible. This year’s roster included the generosity of Ferguson, LaCantina Doors, Sub-Zero Wolf, Art House, Crestron, Dornbracht, Architectural Blue, Bedrosians Tile Stone, Benjamin Moore Paints, Cosentino, Landscape Illuminators and Robert Allen, among many.

A successful show house is the rare and great fusion of many talents and entities that produce something special in the design world, which brims with creativity, inspiration, history, fun, philanthropy and so much more. The Christopher Kennedy Compound distinctly delivered all.